“You’re pregnant?” Gavin asked, startling Stori.
She jumped at the sound of his voice but she felt too bad to even acknowledge him. Gavin grabbed a towel from the cabinet and ran some cold water on it. He placed it on Stori’s forehead and she felt better almost instantly.
“What the hell are you doing in my house Gavin?” Stori managed to ask in between dry heaving.
“I’m so fucking happy right now! We’re having a baby,” Gavin said excitedly.
“I wish the fuck I would,” Stori said as she flushed the toilet and stood up. She grabbed her toothbrush and brushed her teeth to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Gavin asked.
“You must be out of your fucking mind if you think I’m having a baby for you.” Stori frowned.
“Please don’t do this Stori. I fucked up, but what does an innocent child have to do with that?” Gavin asked as he looked at her with pitiful eyes.
“I don’t want no parts of you, Gavin. I don’t even want to see you. Why would I want to bring a baby into the world with your blood flowing through its veins?” Stori questioned.
That was only a small part of the reason. Truthfully, she didn’t even know if Gavin was the father or not. She’d slept with him on Sunday morning and was fucking Nas Monday night. She couldn’t call Lady a hoe anymore because she was her mother’s child. Stori had been feeling sick a lot lately but she wasn’t ready to face reality. When she woke up that morning, Stori felt like the room was spinning. She was happy that Nas offered to take Toi to school because she was able to sleep in a little longer. Stori knew her body and the changes weren’t hard to see. After she put her two clients under the dryer, she grabbed the test that Nas tried to get Milan to take. Stori already knew what it would say but she took it anyway just to be sure. She didn’t expect Gavin to find out and she was sorry that he had. He couldn’t keep shit to himself, so Nas would know soon too. Stori had already planned to get rid of it and nothing that he said was going to change her mind.
“Baby, please, I’ll do whatever I have to do. Please don’t kill my baby. It’s not fair for you to punish my unborn child for the mistakes that I made,” Gavin noted.
“There is no unborn child. I’m getting rid of it the first chance I get. Trust me, it’s for the best,” Stori said.
“That’s fucked up Stori. I swear I never took you as that type of female. You can raise your sister, but my baby is not good enough for you to keep,” Gavin snapped angrily.
“You must be trying to get shot. Is that what you really want Gavin? You know I stay ready nigga. I suggest you get the fuck up out of my house and don’t come back. And stop talking to me about a baby that’ll be a distant memory by next week,” Stori replied, just as heated as he was.
She grabbed her phone and started searching for abortion clinics right in his face. Gavin was livid but there was only so much that he could do. Stori was good for pulling guns out on people and there was no telling where she had them hidden.
“Stupid ass bitch,” Gavin fumed as he hurriedly walked away.
“Your baby mama is a bitch nigga!” Stori yelled after him.
Gavin wanted to knock some shit over in her shop as he walked through it, but he wasn’t crazy. Stori had cousins that he did not want to deal with. She was kind of crazy at times too and he wasn’t in the mood to be in no bullshit. It seemed as if he and Stori were drifting further apart and he didn’t know what to do. As much as it pained him to admit it, he had to start looking for another place to stay. It didn’t look like he was getting back with his wife no time soon and he was already over living with his parents. Gavin was so depressed that he didn’t even want to go to work. Things there seemed just as tense. He didn’t know what he had done but Nas had distanced himself. Gavin tried talking to him but he always gave him a dry, one word reply. He was starting to act just like Remo and Gavin didn’t like that. He was tempted to look for another shop to work in but that would have been a stupid move. Mr. Herbert’s shop was popular and they had a steady flow of customers, even on slow days. Besides that, Gavin had a hard enough time trying to find a shop before Nas got him on there.
Since he needed to make some money, Gavin decided to go to work. When he got there, the shop was packed and he got right to work on a few of the walk-in customers. Nas was busy too and they hadn’t said anything to each other. Gavin felt like he was losing his best friend and he hated that feeling.
“You went to school today boy? And don’t lie,” Nas said when Eric walked into the shop.
Eric always came in after school and on the weekends to help out around the shop. He made good grades but he was known to cut class sometimes. Nas took a liking to him and he made sure that he was straight. He was the one who got Eric’s uniforms and everything else that he needed for school. Eric had all kinds of shoes and clothes that Nas kept locked up at the barber shop. He came in every morning to change out of his Nike slides into a pair of the shoes that he had there. On weekends, he would shower at home and come into the shop to change into his good clothes. Eric’s mother was on drugs and she stole everything. Although he and his brother lived with their grandmother, their mother was always there. To keep from having to kill her, Nas didn’t let Eric bring anything of value to his house. Eric kept a fresh cut, courtesy of Nas and he was forever grateful to the man that he looked up to.
“Yeah, I got my report card too,” Eric said as he showed it to him.
“That’s what’s up bruh.” Nas smiled proudly as he looked over Eric’s grades.
Eric went straight to his locker and took off his new Jordon’s and put them back in the box. He put his Nike slides back on and grabbed the broom. He knew what he had to do and no one ever had to tell him. He kept the two bathrooms clean and made sure that they were always stocked with soap and tissue. Nas did the most for him, but the other barbers kept money in his pockets too.
“Are you ready to eat?” Nas asked Eric after a while.
“Yeah,” Eric replied. Nas handed him some money to go get them both something to eat from the corner store across the street. When he came back with the food, Nas took a break and went into the employee lounge in the back. Gavin waited a few minutes before he went back there to join him.
“Man, you’ll never guess what the fuck happened today?” Gavin said as soon as he took a seat. Nas was eating his chicken plate but he looked up at him as he talked.
“What’s good?” he questioned.
“I was kind of in my feelings earlier so I popped up on Stori,” Gavin replied.
Nas paused midair with a piece of chicken in his hand. Gavin didn’t miss the look of anger that flashed across his face but he didn’t really think anything of it.
“The fuck you go over there for?” Nas asked angrily. Again, Gavin thought nothing of it because Nas did have a mean side to him.
“Man, I was missing the fuck out of her and I just wanted to see her. But picture when I went there, she was upstairs in the bathroom sick as a dog. She was throwing up and I didn’t know what the fuck was wrong with her. Then, I look on the counter and see a positive pregnancy test,” Gavin announced.
“She’s pregnant!” Nas yelled a little louder than he needed to.
“Yeah man. Pregnant with my baby and she’s trying to abort it. I’m so fucked up behind that shit. I started not to even come to work,” Gavin replied.
“How do you know that she’s having an abortion?” Nas inquired.
“Because she told me so. All that time we spent trying to have a baby. Now that it finally happened, we’re separated. I just feel like this might be a sign from God. Maybe this is just what we need for us to get back together,” Gavin replied.
“I doubt it,” Nas said with a big smile on his face.
“The fuck you smiling so hard for nigga?” Gavin laughed.
“Because I’m happy as fuck right now,” Nas replied as he stood to his feet. He threw the rest of his food away and w
ashed his hands. Gavin didn’t know why he was so happy but it had been a while since he’d seen Nas genuinely smile.
“Where you rushing off to nigga?” Gavin asked.
“Home,” Nas said as he walked out of the break room and back to the front of the shop. Gavin didn’t know exactly where his home was since he wasn’t with Milan anymore.
Unfortunately, Nas couldn’t leave as soon as he wanted to. Three of his regulars came in and he had to service them before he left. Once that was done, Mr. Herbert came in and wanted to talk about him and Remo buying the shop. He had finally sold his house and he was ready to move forward with selling the shop too. Nas was half listening to everything that the other man was saying. He was too busy thinking about Stori and her possibly being pregnant with his baby.
Nas didn’t leave from the shop until after seven that night. As soon as he walked into the house, the aroma of a home cooked meal was the first thing to greet him. Even after working all day, Stori still made time to have a hot meal on the stove every night. Milan was lazy as fuck. She didn’t work at all and she still refused to cook. Nas didn’t miss a damn thing about being with her.
“What’s up baby?” Nas greeted as he wrapped his arms around Stori’s waist. She was standing in front of the stove finishing up their meal.
“Hey boo. How was your day?” Stori asked, making him smile. Little shit like that was what had Nas falling more and more for her every day. No one had ever asked him about his day and that meant a lot to him.
“It was straight. What about yours?” he asked her.
“Let’s just say that I’m happy it’s over,” Stori replied.
She froze when Nas placed his hands on her belly. She didn’t have to ask if he knew because she was almost sure that he did. Gavin never did know how to keep his mouth closed but he was confiding in the wrong nigga.
“I want it. I don’t care who the father is,” Nas whispered in her ear.
“Naseem, please don’t. I’ve already made the appointment to terminate it,” Stori replied.
“What if it’s mine?” Nas questioned.
“What if it’s not?” Stori countered.
“I really don’t care Stori. I want it either way. Besides, I really don’t believe in abortions,” Nas replied.
“I’m sorry Nas but I just can’t do it. The thought of this possibly being Gavin’s baby just makes me sick to my stomach,” Stori said.
“Just fuck what I want, huh?” Nas questioned.
“I would never say that baby but I need you to understand how I feel. I want kids, just not with Gavin. We can start a family as soon as I get this problem taken care of,” Stori promised.
“Let me make sure I got this straight. You want to kill a baby, just to turn around and have another one. The way karma is set up, you’ll fuck around and can’t even have no more kids. For all we know, that could me my baby that you’re trying to get rid of,” Nas argued as he looked down at her.
“Yeah but there’s also a chance that it’s not,” Stori replied.
“Alright baby. I don’t want to argue with you. What’s the plan? When is this supposed to happen?” Nas asked as he tried to suppress his anger.
“Hopefully next week. I have a consultation and hopefully the procedure can be done soon after,” Stori replied.
“Cool. Where is Toi?” Nas asked while changing the subject. Stori could tell that he was upset but he tried his best to remain calm.
“She’s upstairs doing homework,” Stori replied.
Nas nodded his head and walked away. Stori felt bad for what she was about to do, but her hands were tied. She honestly had no clue as to who the father of her child was and that was driving her crazy. Still, she didn’t want her decision to affect her relationship with Nas. They knew each other through Gavin but they were still getting to know each other as a couple. Nas was an open book but he was unlike anybody else that she’d ever dealt with. He didn’t really get angry and he did some crazy shit when things didn’t go his way.
Once the food was done, Stori called Toi down to eat right before she fixed Nas a plate. She put his food and drink on a tray and took it upstairs to her bedroom. Nas was on the phone when she walked in and she could tell that he was talking to Remo. He smiled when he saw her walk in with his food and sat up in the bed.
“Fuck off my line nigga. The queen just walked in,” Nas said as he hung up the phone.
“You didn’t have to get off the phone,” Stori said when she sat the tray in his lap.
“Don’t start doing shit like this for me now and try to switch up on me later. You can’t spoil a nigga like me and then try to stop,” Nas said when Stori grabbed the fork and started feeding him the steak, loaded potato and shrimp that she fixed.
“I never start something that I don’t plan to finish,” Stori assured him.
“That fuck boy told me that he came through earlier today,” Nas said as he looked at her.
“I figured that he would,” Stori said as she rolled her eyes.
“Would you have told me if he didn’t?” Nas questioned.
“I don’t hide anything from you, Naseem,” Stori replied as she continued to feed him.
“You don’t have a reason to,” Nas said.
“Are you mad at me?” Stori asked as she looked up at him.
“Nah, I’m not mad. I’m pissed. But, it’s all good. I’ll let you handle it how you see fit.” Nas shrugged.
“I’m sorry Nas but I just need you to understand how I feel,” Stori replied.
“I already know how you feel baby. I’ll be okay. And like you said, we can always try again,” he replied.
“Do you really mean that Naseem?” Stori asked.
“Fuck no,” he answered honestly.
“Why did you say it then?” Stori laughed.
“Because I’m not trying to argue with you, love. You’re stubborn and so am I. See, Gavin was your bitch and he let you call all the shots. I can see that you don’t really like to compromise and neither do I. You like to have your way,” Nas observed.
“Is that a problem?” Stori inquired.
“Not at all. I’m all for spoiling you but I don’t want you to ever get shit twisted. I’m a born leader baby. All you have to do is follow me. I’ll never lead you wrong and you got my word on that,” Nas replied.
“Are we good though Nas?” Stori asked him.
“Always baby. I don’t ever want you to doubt that,” he replied.
Stori smiled and he smiled back at her. Having his support meant a lot to her and that was all that she needed. She wouldn’t make matters worse by asking him to go with her to terminate her pregnancy. She knew that Kalani would take her and that’s who she was going to ask. Truthfully, Stori wasn’t going to try for another baby any time soon. As soon as she got rid of the one that she was carrying, she was going to get on some type of birth control. She wasn’t ready to take that step with Nas just yet. They still had a lot to learn about each other before they tried to start a family. If things kept going as good as they were, Stori could see it happening in the future though.
“Y ou okay boo?” Kalani asked as soon as Stori got into her car.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” Stori smiled nervously.
A week after finding out that she was pregnant, Kalani was bringing Stori to get an abortion. Stori had already done her consultation and paid her deposit. She was nine weeks in and she had no idea as to which man had fathered her child. It was embarrassing and she didn’t even want to think about it. Nas hadn’t said anything else about it and it was as if Stori wasn’t even pregnant. He didn’t treat her any differently and he didn’t appear to be upset anymore.
“Remo said that I’m an accessory to murder,” Kalani said.
“Bitch! Why the hell did you tell him anything? I need to find a new best friend.” Stori frowned.
“Do it and I’ll make Kareem kill her,” Kalani threatened.
“You pillow talk too damn much. I haven’t even talked
to Nas about it anymore since the first day,” Stori noted.
“Nas was the one who told him first anyway. I just filled in a few of the blanks.” Kalani shrugged.
“I just want this to be over with. Morning sickness is kicking my ass,” Stori said.
“I just wish we knew for sure. I hate that you could possibly be terminating a baby that might actually belong to Nas,” Kalani replied.
“I know but there’s no way for me to know that before the baby gets here,” Stori assumed.
“Yes there is. Remo said him and Nas looked into it. You can do an amniocentesis or noninvasive prenatal test. Most of them can be done when you’re only ten weeks in. Just think, if you wait one more week you can find out who the baby’s father is,” Kalani pointed out.
“Well, too bad that I’m having the abortion today,” Stori snapped.
“Okay boo. It was just a thought.” Kalani shrugged.
“I’m sorry about my attitude friend. Everything just seems to have changed overnight. Gavin and I were trying to have a baby, so I hadn’t been on birth control for a while. Nas and I started out using protection but it didn’t take long for us to get careless. I just hate that Toi has to witness all this bullshit. She saw me go from being married to Gavin one day to being in a relationship with his friend a day later. I can only imagine what she’s thinking,” Stori rambled.
“Toi loves Nas and you know that. She’s happy just as long as you are. You worry too much about nothing,” Kalani said as she grabbed Stori’s hand to comfort her.
“Don’t forget that I need you to get my Stanka from school today. I’m not sure how I’ll feel after the procedure. I’ll just probably be in bed for the rest of the day,” Stori replied.
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